APRIL 14, 2004

Hunter-Reay dreams of F1 glory

Many young American drivers do not bother with dreams of making it big in Europe and look only to NASCAR where a top level racer can make a pot of gold without ever having to leave the confines of the United States of America. There are a number of youngsters who have headed to Europe in the hope of breaking into F1 but none have yet made it through the hierarchy. The other route into F1 is via Champ Car racing and rising Texan star Ryan Hunter-Reay has his sights set firmly on winning in Champ Cars and then leaping the Atlantic into Formula 1, following in the footsteps of Jacques Villeneuve, Cristiano da Matta and others.

"I've never made any secret of the fact that my ultimate dream is Formula 1," says the 23-year-old from Dallas. "I had to make some tough decisions this year as I had offers from IRL but I wanted to stay in Champ Cars as I think it's a great proving ground for F1. I should say though that, even though my dream is F1, I'm still here to win in Champ Car. I want this title as much as I've ever wanted anything!"

Hunter-Reay had his first taste of victory in Champ Car last year in Surfers Paradise and this year drives for Keith Wiggins's Herdez Competition. But his sights are set firmly on F1 in 2005 or 2006 and Hunter-Reay is planning to visit Britain soon to make contact with some of the Formula 1 teams.